A conventional optical proximity sensor includes a single light-emitting source such as a light-emitting diode and a light-detecting device such as a photodiode. The light-emitting diode is frequently placed at the focal point of a projector or illuminator lens so that it projects a beam of light having a field of view determined by the characteristics of the illuminator lens. The photodiode is placed at the focal point of a detector lens so that it has a detection field of view that intersects the light-emitting diode field of view to define a predetermined detection volume. Light reflected from an object in the detection volume is sensed by the photodiode and indicates that an object is within the volume defined by the intersecting fields of view. As can be appreciated, in order for a well defined detection volume to be obtained, the field of view of the light-emitting diode and the photodiode must have a fairly small angle. In addition, their fields of view must be restricted in order to facilitate separating the light emitting diode signal from background sunlight. However, the smaller the field of view of the light-emitting diode, the more light-emitting diode/photodiode pairs or combinations are required in order to define a desired detection volume. In theory, there is no problem with increasing the number of light-emitting diode/photodiode combinations; however, as a practical matter, the more combinations there are, the more difficult it is to align each combination with respect to all the other combinations. These adjustments are very time consuming and significantly add to the operating cost of arrays utilizing multiple proximity sensors.